Maddie*Kate

Blogging Day of Silence for Cohen

2010-07-01T08:41:00.000-04:00

Swimming....

2010-06-29T20:39:00.004-04:00

Yes, it's been a while since my last post. We have been enjoying, for the most part, a great start to our summer vacation.

Swimming...yes, WE.ARE.SWIMMING.IN.OUR.POOL!! Freestyle pools hooked us up!! The first tractor was here May 24th and we were swimming in our pool June 19th, one day earlier than we planned! We have also been swimming at the beach, Weeki Wachee Springs with the Girl Scouts, and Adventure Island...my kids are REALLY tan right now!!

Swimming...we have been swimming in VBS (two actually, one at our church and one at a friend's mom's church) The kids had a blast!! We have two more planned for the end of July as well!

Swimming...we have been swimming in birthday celebrations with family and girlfriends for a special little six year old of mine. (Yes, I NEED to go out and do a birthday session with her, as the only time I've taken pictures is in the pool or a bathing suit!!)

The cake after Sammy got a little taste :-)

Mallory's birthday party with her friends was this past Saturday at the ice skating rink at the mall. Yes, that's where we have our June birthday parties in Florida! I was a little hesitant to have the party there with everyone just being 6, but those girls had a good time!

At first, everyone was kind of scared, only holding Daddy's hand or the outside rail...

Then they got a group lesson. I strongly suggest getting a lesson!!

They learned how to brace themselves and how to fall!!

Swimming...unfortunately, we have been been swimming in prayer for a dear, dear friend of mine & her family who lost her youngest brother (who was only 28 years old) 2 weeks ago suddenly. I am still praying for strength for them and to find the answers that they are looking for the cause of his death. We are also swimming in prayers for my dear, sweet husband tomorrow as he is having a colonoscopy. Praying that it's just something easy to fix, that would be the BEST birthday present ever. ***UPDATE*** Nate is JUST FINE!!! He just needs some changes to his diet :-)

Swimming...I have been swimming in fabric, thread, patterns, etc. for some extra special custom orders. Yes, the extra money is nice, but I'm in a little over my head!

The Official End of Kindergarten!!

2010-06-13T21:33:00.002-04:00

How could we go from this....

To this....

In just a short 180 days of school? Mallory is officially a first grader now. Her last day of school was Wednesday. I am so proud of all that she has accomplished this year...starting at a school with none of her preschool friends, she rode the bus the first day of school too, she went from reading simple beginner books to reading chapter books, she can tell time, knows basic addition and subtraction, got rave reviews from her teacher on all of her report cards, and she played soccer, gymnastics, tennis and swimming !!

Let the summer fun begin! Tomorrow is the start of our church's Vacation Bible School. The theme is Galactic Blast! We had a "blast" decorating today after church. The kids will be amazed at how we transformed the Fellowship Hall in to a command center and the Narthex in to outer space!! I'm the craft leader all week. This is my first time volunteering so it should be fun!!

The Pool Process

2010-06-08T21:46:00.003-04:00

When we started on our journey to having a pool in our backyard, there was always one date in the back of our mind that we wanted it ready for, June 20th, Mallory's 6th birthday. Never did I think we would be able to make that date, considering they starting taking the tree roots out on May 24th. Look how far we've come!

Yes, that's a gigantic dump truck and an excavator in my yard....(and a very excited little boy watching the action!)

Here it is after they dug the hole and got the forms ready. Since we live so close to the beach, they had to have water pumps running for a few days to keep the water from seeping in. My poor neighbors yards were flooded!

Big transformation here... They had to remove all of our bushes from behind the pool to get the truck back there to level the dirt, run the electrical and plumbing.

Do you really want to know what our wood floors look like after Sammy runs through this a few times a day?

And here we are today!! They are going to start laying the travertine Thursday and the Pebble Tec should be done next week. All that will be left is WATER!! (and some serious landscaping :))

Teacher Appreciation Luncheon Part 2

2010-05-26T15:43:00.001-04:00

We had a great time at the luncheon last week!! Luckily, I remembered to bring my camera this year to document all the good times!

We got this idea from THIS blog that I just recently learned about. She's got some great ideas going on! Be sure to check her out!

We got the pots from the $1 bin at Target, filled them with African Violets, attached the cute saying and put their gifts cards behind them!

The teachers enjoying the yummy salads!

Then the really fun part, the Minute to Win it GAMES!!!

First, we had them pick teams (the red poker chips were one team and the blue poker chips were another). We had 8 teachers and Mr. Swope, our music teacher, so we decided to let each team use him as a substitute ONE time only. The first game was called "Suck It". They had a bowl of M&M's, a straw, and an empty bowl. They had 1 minute to transfer as many M&M's from one bowl to the other using only the straw.

Next was Johnny Applestack. They had to stack 3 apples on top of each other, but the kicker was, we made them use only their TEETH!! This was hilarious as they ended up eating parts of the apples trying to get them stacked!

The next game was called "Hanky Panky." The teachers had to use only one hand to take as many tissues out of the box as they could in 1 minute.

Last was the game called "Keep it Up." We only used one feather and that was plenty to keep them busy!!

I think everyone had a wonderful time. We are so blessed to have such caring and compassionate teachers taking care of our precious toddlers everyday.

I'll be back tomorrow with some updated pool pictures!!

Teacher Appreciation Luncheon

2010-05-19T19:38:00.002-04:00

Jack's last day of school is next Thursday! I can't believe he will be in Pre-K next year :-( :-( I have been on the Board of Directors at his school since Mallory was 3. Every year we put together a special lunch to thank the teachers for all their hard work, aka, putting up with our kids all year. The first year I was part of it, we themed it around "Oprah's Favorite Things". The teachers played a game or solved a riddle. Whomever won got a prize, but then we all ran out from the other room and said to everyone else "And YOU get a prize, and YOU get a prize, etc." It was so much fun for everyone.

Last year was called "A day in the life of a preschool". When the teachers walked in, we acted like the teachers and they were the students. They had assigned seats, had to do artwork, listen to stories, have playground time, etc. After each activity, they got a prize themed around the activity. Book time = Borders gift cards. We had fun acting like the teachers and they had fun acting like our children :-)

This year we themed it after the new show "A Minute to Win it". We are going to put the teachers on teams and have them compete against each other to win prizes.

I was in charge of making the place settings for the lunch. Aren't these cute? I got the idea from HERE.

We have a salad lunch, and all the board members make a different salad. I'm making a TACO SALAD.

1 lb ground beef browned
1 head lettuce shredded
2 tomatoes chopped
2 small can of sliced black olives
1/2 red onion chopped
1 bag of Doritos
1 jar of Marie's Creamy Italian Garlic Dressing (found in the refrigerated section by salad)
2 cups cheddar cheese

Can be made ahead of time, but add dressing and Doritos just before serving (so it won't get soggy).

This is a great dinner salad too!!

I also made some of these for desert!!

Great Story for All Moms

2010-05-11T15:45:00.002-04:00

Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author:

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am,
and one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves.

Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past. Everything in all the books I once pored over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, have all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome.

To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the, "Remember-When- Mom-Did Hall of Fame." The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?". (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top.

And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.

Fun Weekend & Mother's Day Tea

2010-05-07T12:46:00.003-04:00

After us all going through this yucky cold this week (except Mallory), we are off to a fun beach resort about 40 minutes to see my wonderful friend from Illinois that we visited this winter! The kids didn't have school today, so we are just waiting on Daddy to finish up work early and head down there! (NOT LOVING THAT THEIR WEBSITE SAYS THE BEACH IS OIL FREE TODAY....sigh...please pray for all of our beaches as this spill is going to be devastating to the local economy).

Both kids had some behavioral mishaps this week (Mallory getting kicked out of her gymnastics class for not listening to her teacher and Jack talking back to his teacher and pointing his finger at her in a not-so-nice-way!), so we are hoping some quality family time away will help us all (I was in tears yesterday wondering what I was doing wrong to have my children acting this way). I know it's the end of the school year and everyone is crabby, but come on Matthews kids!!

This morning at Jack's preschool, they had the Mother's Day Tea program. I brought my camera, but have been opting to take videos lately instead of pictures, as I'm horrible about recording anything with the kids!

On Mother's Day from kacey Matthews on Vimeo.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend!!

Mallory's First Swim Meet

2010-05-04T10:56:00.002-04:00

Since she is only 5, she is on the under-6 "pre-team" which means she only swims when there is a meet against one or two other teams, not the big meets on the weekends (this is something that makes me VERY happy). Mallory is swimming for Carlouel Yacht Club, which is the club we joined for the summer. They have practice everyday, but right now, we are only going on Wednesday-Friday. She loves being on the team, learning how to do the strokes and how to dive off the platform.

Here she is waiting in line to warm up.

Getting her game face on!

Ready for the big race!

And she's off!

Go Mallory!!

Her #1 fan...

Waiting to swim the breast stroke next!

Look at these under-6 boys starting their race! I think this is hilarious, as they are all entering the pool in different ways!

Coach Leo giving her some last minute instructions.

Daddy cheering her on the whole length of the pool!!

Way to go Mallory!!

Sick....

2010-05-03T14:14:00.003-04:00

Early Sunday morning, after a wonderful evening out with some friends to a delicious dinner and a girlie movie, I woke up to the sound of a seal barking. Right then I knew that someone in our house had the croup. If any of your children have had this, you know how scary it can make you feel. Poor Jack was the victim this time. I was so nervous about his breathing, that I almost scooped him up and headed to the ER. We tried to go in to the steam shower, but that made him upset and his breathing even more stressed. We tried the freezer in the house, but that darn Sub Zero doesn't push the cold air out like a regular refrigerator. So, Jack and I stood in the freezer in the garage while Nate was on the phone with the pediatrician. He finally calmed down after some Motrin and Gatorade, but I didn't sleep a wink the rest of the night. We hopped in the car when the doctor opened Sunday morning to get a dose of steroids. He seemed great after the doctor visit, so we headed out to Orlando to see Nate's mom & her husband who were in town from North Carolina. We spent the afternoon floating in the lazy river and letting the kids play with their grandparents. I am paying for it today, as now I'm sick and exhausted and the laundry isn't doing itself...

We didn't get any pictures on Sunday at the pool, but I had to share this picture of Mallory and her friend from her first swim meet... I will share more pictures tomorrow, but I thought this one would make you smile a bit :-)

Before and After Backyard Trees

2010-04-26T10:25:00.003-04:00

I have to admit, getting rid of two gigantic trees the day before Earth Day wasn't ideal (we promise to plant two more after the construction is over).

Here's what our backyard looked like before last Wednesday. Please excuse all the weeds and overgrown grass!!

Here's what it looked like Wednesday afternoon. Talk about a transformation!

Our house feels about 10 degrees warmer now during the day now that all the shade is gone :-( I'm a little bit sad, but we all can't wait for the pool to start!!

New Springtime Friends

2010-04-19T09:40:00.002-04:00

The schedule for phase 2 of the renovation has been pushed back a few days due to some things that had to be taken care of this weekend before they could start.

This is what we are hoping our backyard will look like in 6-8 weeks (except we won't have the views of the Gulf of Mexico)... This is the pool of one of the houses that Nate just finished over on the beach.

In order to get it to look this way, we have a few HUGE trees that have to come out. The tree company is coming on Tuesday to take care of this, but we had to move some plants first.

This stag horn fern weighs about 400 pounds and it was hanging from one of the trees that is coming out. Nate had to bring his truck around to the backyard to move it to it's new home.

We had another stag horn fern that was growing on the tree as well.

When Nate went to pull it off, these little guys and their momma came crashing down with it!! The momma took off running towards the fence and the poor little ones didn't know what to do.

This little guy kept trying to climb back up the tree to get to his home.

This one was following momma's scent.

And this one didn't know what to do...

Eventually they all wondered back towards the fence and I'm hoping they found their momma!!

Spring Break - Turtle Park

2010-04-14T09:02:00.002-04:00

Yes, Spring Break was a few weeks ago...

A friend of mine that has twin 6 year old boys that were in preschool with Mallory had a baby right before Spring Break, so a few of us took turns keeping the twins busy so Mom could get some rest and bond with her new precious little boy. I had never been to this park, so I decided today was the day!! It was chilly, but beautiful out! The turtles were everywhere trying to enjoy the sun.

This little guy was very tame. He let the kids touch him (which I wasn't fond of, but I did cover them in antibacterial hand soap!!)

They had a little machine that you could purchase some food tablets at, so the kids got to feed the turtles in the pond.

We've got some BIG things going down (literally) tomorrow!! Be sure to check back for all the action!!

Super Fun Weekend!!

2010-04-11T17:18:00.003-04:00

My friends and I had a BLAST this weekend! The race was so much fun. There were over 2,000 participants total, about 1400 in the 5K that we were in. My time wasn't as good as the last race we were in, because there was so much bottle-necking for the first mile because of all the racers, we didn't really get to "run" until about 10 minutes in. I finished 279/1392 overall and was 58/255 in my age group.

Here is a fabulous picture that Iron Girl just sent out. Isn't our beach just beautiful. It's so peaceful first thing in the morning.

After the race, we went back to a friend's house and had a nice breakfast, then hit the hotel pool for some sun and relaxation!! Our rooms weren't going to be ready until 3:00, so we rented a cabana by the pool. We had our own bathroom, couch, flat screen TV and wet bar for the whole day! It was definitely the way to go!

We had so much fun that we are planning our next race weekend getaway!! :-)

We've got an extremely busy week ahead. I can't share the details yet, but we've got the start of phase 2 of our renovation beginning!!

Girls Weekend, Here I Come!!!

2010-04-09T18:24:00.002-04:00

8 of my closest friends and I are running in the IronGirl 5K tomorrow morning at the beach. We decided to make a weekend out of it and stay at the new Hyatt that overlooks the beach. The weather is supposed to be perfect. I can't wait to relax by the pool all day without having to hear "MOMMY!"

Easter Egg-stravaganza!!!

2010-04-08T21:47:00.002-04:00

Warning!! Picture overload coming!!

I've taken some time off from the computer/blogging for the past few weeks to catch up on LIFE!! We have been so busy at the Matthews house!!

First, was Jack's Easter party at his preschool. They had a little egg hunt on the playground, then had a fun snack made to look like an Easter bunny!

Just so you know, the Matthews kids take their egg hunts VERY seriously (just like their mom)!! Lots of planning and strategy goes in to each hunt...

Jack's first strategy was to cheat. He knew that I was the one hiding the eggs on the playground, so the first thing out of his mouth was, "Mom, tell me where you hid the eggs." When I wouldn't tell him, he just took off running as fast as he could. This is the only picture I caught of him!

Back in the classroom for his bunny snack consisting of a little vanilla ice cream cup, 2 sugar wafers and some jelly beans!

Then, that Saturday afternoon was the big Spring Festival at our church. My friend, Amy and I were in charge of the children's activities. We had a bounce house, a huge inflatable slide, a petting zoo, pony rides, the Easter Bunny, another egg hunt, and Fritz the one-man circus!

Jack getting his face painted as a bunny.

Mallory planting a seed.

Mallory and the Easter Bunny, aka Daddy :-)

The kids were on Spring Break the whole week before Easter (which I will share soon), so they were off for Good Friday. We've had an annual egg dying/egg hunt party at my favorite park for 3 years now on Good Friday. This year was great, weather was perfect, about 70 kids and adults having a good time!! Everyone brings their hard boiled eggs and something to contribute to the party. I've accumulated about 500 plastic eggs, so the hunt is huge!!

Jack on a mission (again!)

Saturday was (gasp) ANOTHER egg hunt and a yummy breakfast at the yacht/beach club that we have joined for the summer. I grew up coming here with my grandmother almost everyday of the summer and on every holiday, so I'm so blessed that we have the opportunity to have our kids experience the same things.

Mallory taking it VERY serious!! Look at that angle!

My attempt to get the family to coordinate our outfits...

Easter morning was a blur, as we had to be at church at 9:00 and the kids were still in bed at 8:15. We made it on time, with the kids bellies full of candy :-) My niece Morgan spent the night with us and joined us at church.

I love this picture of Mallory.

After church, we let the kids play with their Easter goodies, then took the golf cart out to the bay to look for some fish and explore the nature trails. It was a perfect day!!

Snow Days

2010-03-31T08:06:00.004-04:00

Since it is FINALLY warming up down here, with hopes of hitting the beach tomorrow, I thought that I'd post our pictures from our trip to Illinois...

The kids were incredibly well-behaved on the whole trip, with the exception of a melt down by Mallory the last night we were there.

Here they are playing their gaming systems waiting to get on the airplane.

Casey had warned us that the snow was melting quickly, so as soon as we pulled in to the driveway, the kids were out in the snow and enjoying every minute of it.

Mallory had so much fun making a snowman too!

The next day, we went out sledding on the hill in their neighbor's backyard. I was at the bottom of the hill with the camera and Casey was helping the kids get on the sleds at the top. She warned me that I needed to help stop them at the bottom or they could possibly keep going all the way in to the creek below...
Mallory was the first one down and she loved it!!

Jack was next and he got going a little too fast... My eyes were glued inside my camera, so I had no idea that he was quickly approaching the bottom of the hill that leads to the creek... I don't have any pictures of this, as I was frantically trying to save my child from the freezing water!! Jack learned a good lesson that day, slide down the hill on your bottom and you won't land in the creek!!

He did better sliding down with me!! Mallory learned to just bail out of the sled towards the bottom too, as she was sure she didn't want to end up in the creek!!

Jack spent the rest of the day making snow angels and "pretend' sledding with his best little buddy!

Fun Weekend for a Cause

2010-03-19T10:59:00.003-04:00

This afternoon, my parents, my sister, her older kids and myself are heading up to Jacksonville to play in a golf tournament that my aunt is hosting called, "Knickers for Knockers". Both my aunt and my mom are breast cancer survivors so this is a special tournament for us all.

This is my first time playing golf since before I was pregnant with Mallory. I used to play golf in high school, got a scholarship to play at Florida Atlantic University, played there for 2 years, then got extremely burnt out. I'm going in to this tournament not having even picked up a golf club in over 6 years. It should be interesting, to say the least! I'm playing in a foursome with my dad, my sister, and my nephew, Kyle. My kids are staying home with Nathan this weekend, as they are just too young to have out on the golf course yet!!

We will also be celebrating my dad's 60th birthday tonight at a local restaurant. Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T11:35:00.001-04:00

Anticipation (All Bundled Up!!)

2010-03-15T11:21:00.003-04:00

This picture was taken on our recent trip to Illinois to see my best friend from college. The kids had a blast sledding down the hill! Jack and Hunter were like peas and carrots :-) Although we haven't had any snow here in Florida this year, it sure has been COLD! We are welcoming Spring with open arms this week!!

Enter your "Bundled Up" photo at Iheartfaces.

Hillbilly Teeth

2010-03-14T17:36:00.003-04:00

How fun is this snack going to be to make tomorrow when Mallory gets home from school? Who doesn't love apples with peanut butter? Why not throw some marshmallows in to the mix?

photo from HeidiW on Tasty Kitchen

You can find the link to the instructions HERE.

We had a wonderful weekend. The circus was HILARIOUS!!! I took a video with my camera, but it's too large to post here...

Great Recommendation for Teaching Your Child to Read

2010-03-12T11:11:00.002-05:00

About this time last year, nearing the end of preschool, Mallory had such a desire to learn how to read. She knew all the letters and the different sounds that they made, but she just couldn't put the sounds together and I really didn't know how to teach this to her. She was only 4, so I just figured that we would wait until kindergarten started and go along with lessons at school. I was shocked to learn that they really wouldn't be teaching them how to read until the 2nd half of the school year, a whole year later than when Mallory was ready.

Luckily, I became friends with a mom from the school and she recommended this book so I could teach Mallory myself. I was a little bit skeptical, as the title was "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons". Sure, "easy" lessons? We did 2-3, sometimes 4 lessons a night, depending how much Mallory wanted to do. AND.IT.WORKED. She is an amazing reader now, and I can honestly say it's because of this book.

You can find it HERE. I personally wouldn't recommend it for a child younger than 4. Read the reviews on Amazon and make your own opinion.

Reading is THE most important skill that your child can have in school, so why not give them a little head start with this book!

We have another busy weekend ahead. Jack is a clown/power ranger in the preschool circus tonight, Mallory has a birthday party on Saturday at Chuck E. Cheese, Nathan and I are going out to celebrate a friend's birthday that night, and then Mallory & I are selling girl scout cookies at Publix on Sunday afternoon!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Spring is HERE!!

2010-03-11T11:09:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was an amazing day! It was sunny, about 76 degrees and it was a short day of school for Mallory! We haven't seen the 70's since November (craziest winter in Florida EVER!), so I told the kids to get their bathing suits on and head out to the front yard for some sprinkler fun!

Look at Mallory, poor thing had just tripped over the hose and landed in the leaves/dirt!

We had a little truck wash...

Which wouldn't be complete without your 3-D chalk glasses!

And then a little sunbathing/chalk art on the driveway.

It's windy and rainy here today, with the weather supposed to cool off again. Hopefully soon enough, I will be complaining about all the HEAT!!

This past Saturday, my friend and I ran in our first 5K together. It was 43 degrees at start time and neither of us brought any gloves! Our hands were numb the whole time, but WE DID AWESOME!!! She finished ahead of me, as she's a sprinter at the end (I'm all about just getting there without tripping over myself!) I finished #136 with a time of 28:51. Here's a wonderful picture that the race just sent to me, of course it's right at the last turn of the race and I look like I'm about to die!!

I knew the race was going to come by the end of our street, so I had Nathan bring the kids out to watch us run by. I wish I would have had my camera, as Mallory was dressed up in her cheerleading costume, with her hair in pig tails (that Daddy did) and her pom-poms cheering everyone on. It was the cutest thing I've seen in a long time!!

#31 & #91

2010-03-04T08:37:00.002-05:00

Do you remember this post and this post from last year?

We were hoping and praying that Mallory would be attending THIS school starting in kindergarten, as that's where I went to school and my sister's children have gone. Well, it wasn't meant to be last year!! Mallory is doing wonderfully at her school that she is at now, she has a great teacher, she has lots of new friends, and is excelling tremendously. But, I feel like she would do even better at a fundamental school, so we tried again this year, not only for THIS school, but for THIS school too. On Monday, we got to log in and see where we were on the wait list (there weren't any openings, as they fill the spots immediately when one becomes available). For Curtis, she is #31 and for Maderia Beach, she is #91. We will get new wait list numbers on March 18th, so say a little prayer for us that the people that were on the wait list in front of her have accepted invitations to other programs so she will move up the lists a little more! Last year she was #124 on the list, so I knew that she wouldn't be going, but we might have a chance this year!! I think they have called #23 or #24 on the wait list this year for the kindergarten classes, so I'm hoping for big movement!!! If she doesn't get in at all next year, we will keep applying, and next Spring, Jack will be applying as well, and your best chance is for kindergarten, so we are very hopeful!! :-)

We have a winner!!

2010-03-03T14:07:00.002-05:00

Angel of Tada! Creations is the winner of our "What's for Dinner Wednesday"!!

If you all didn't try this recipe, you just HAVE to!!

She is a great cook, who likes to cook from scratch! I don't know how she does it with twin girls and a little boy, all under 5!
Check out her recipes HERE.

She and I have been emailing each other about what she would like for her prize. Look at what she picked!! I love these, and I know they will look great on her little man!!

I'm planning on having more giveaways soon, so be sure to check back!!

Some Listings on eBay

2010-03-02T08:29:00.003-05:00

We are cleaning out our closets!! Lots of jeans, skirts, shoes, sample sets and custom boutique resells. I will be listing things throughout the week, so be sure to check back soon!!

Click HERE to find the listings!!

My new favorite place in the kitchen

2010-03-01T10:38:00.003-05:00

When we were designing our kitchen, for the first time, we were designing around the fact that Mallory was just 9 months old, not thinking about the many years to come with school, sports, and other activities. Thankfully, those plans were put on the back burner when I became pregnant with Jack and laid off from my job. When we finally were able to go back to the kitchen designer, the kids were 4 1/2 and 3. The design came out a lot differently. We now had kids in preschool and getting ready to enter kindergarten. I needed places for them to keep backpacks, lunch boxes, library books and their precious artwork.

Here is my new space. This is right off the garage, so when the kids walk in, they can just put their things on their new corkboard/magnet boards, put their backpacks in their designated cubbies and keep my kitchen clutter free!!

A neighbor of mine designed these corkboard/magnet boards for them. Aren't they neat?

This is Jack's.

I just love the detailing that she put in the wood!

This is Mallory's.

She made Mallory's a little more girlie with the polkadots and light colors.

My Little Daisy

2010-02-22T17:21:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, Mallory had her little induction ceremony for her Girl Scout Daisy Troop. There are 10 little girls in her troop, one from her old preschool, one from her current kindergarten class, and lots of new friends.

She was so proud of her little smock and her daisy pen. She can't wait to start getting her badges!!

We picked up our cookie order on Saturday and have been delivering cookies all throughout the neighborhood! She was quite the little salesperson :-)

What's For Dinner Wednesday Giveaway!!

2010-02-17T16:09:00.003-05:00

This is the last week to enter the contest for the free gift, a $40 value! All you need to do is leave a comment with your recipe or if you are a blogger, link up to it using MckLinky! Details of the contest can be found HERE.

Tonight's dinner is Stuffed Peppers!!

Servings 4 (I only made 2 servings, as my picky eaters won't eat these!)
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

4 medium sized Bell Peppers (I used orange tonight, but if you are on a tight budget, the green ones are tasty too! Remember, when you are buying these, break the stems off before you bag them, you are paying by the pound, and the stems are useless!!)
1 1/4 lb ground beef
2 cans Stewed Tomatoes
1 can (11.5 oz)V-8 juice
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice, I like to use a Mexican blend
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cut the stems and de-seed the peppers. To shorten the cooking time in the oven, I like to boil them for about 10-15 minutes in a pot of shallow water to kind of soften them.

2. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the box.
3. Brown the ground beef then add the cooked rice to the pan. I like to add the cheese now too, so it melts a little. Salt and pepper the mixture to your taste.

4. Place the peppers in a baking dish with the hole side up.

5. Fill the peppers with the meat and rice mixture, leaving a little room at the top for the stewed tomatoes and V-8 juice.

6. Pour 1/4 of the can of V-8 juice in each pepper, then the stewed tomatoes on top of that. If there is left over stewed tomatoes, just pour them in the bottom of the pan of extra sauce;-).

7. Place in a 350* oven for about 20 minutes.

We like to eat the Stuffed Peppers by themselves, but they would be good with mashed potatoes too!

Enjoy!!

We are also linking up to Today's Creative Blog!!

Our Trip to Illinois!

2010-02-12T16:37:00.000-05:00

This was the video that I took with my new camera right when we got out of the car, the first time the kids played in the snow. (Please excuse my annoying voice, why do we sound so different to ourselves than we do to other people?) They were having a mini snowball fight! I have another one to share next week, as this site will only allow one upload a week for free, and I'm all about the free stuff :-) I'll be back soon with pictures, as I have 708 to go through, edit and re-size!

In the Snow from kacey Matthews on Vimeo.

What's for Dinner Wednesday Giveaway!!

2010-02-10T10:37:00.002-05:00

Sorry I didn't have anything planned for last week while we were gone, we were lucky to just get out the door on time for the airport!!

I would LOVE for more of you to just leave a comment or link up to this fun idea! The giveaway this month is a great one, a $40 value you're sure to love! Don't be shy, you don't have to include pictures!! Click HERE for the giveaway details!

Since we are going to the Florida State Fair tonight and eating delicious corn dogs, here is the recipe for what we had last night! It was dreary, rainy, windy weather last night, so I opted for White Chicken Chili. This is a cheater recipe, as some nights, I just want EASY, and this is EASY!!!

White Chicken Chili

1 lb chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 pkg McCormick White Chicken Chili Seasoning Mix
1 tbsp oil
1 cup water
2 cans(15 to 16 oz) White Beans, undrained
1 can Diced Tomatoes
2 cups shredded cheese

Assorted toppings: sliced avocado, chopped cilantro or sour cream

There is one ingredient that I left out of the picture, Hunt's Diced Tomatoes!

My plan was to cook this all day in the crockpot, but I was gone all morning and forgot to put everything together before I left. If you do remember to do this, you don't have to cook the chicken first, just dump everything together and cook on low for 8 hours.

The other option is to cook the chicken in a skillet for 3 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink, then put it all in the crockpot for 1-2 hours on high. I add the cheese about 45 minutes before serving to really thicken it up, as I like my chili thick!!

Before Cheese:

After cheese:

Enjoy!

We're HOME!!

2010-02-08T11:22:00.002-05:00

Just a quick stop in to say hello and that we are back! We had a great trip, the plane rides were uneventful, the kids were well behaved and there was snow!!!

I'm off to lunch with my girlfriends today, so I'll be back tomorrow with lots of pictures from our trip!

I went for another run this morning with my friend and did MUCH better! No stopping and we ran pretty fast (for us!) Maybe it's because it was in my neighborhood this time??

Jack's Big Birthday Celebration!

2010-02-01T14:10:00.002-05:00

I was having lots of problems with my computer last week and finally figured out it was a faulty MOUSE! I was planning a big post about Jack turning F-O-U-R (Jan.24th) but my mouse had other plans!

We took a family outing to Toys R Us and let Jack pick out a special toy for his big day. He chose some remote control cars that played laser tag with each other. Then we headed over to my parents to have a family birthday dinner to celebrate with his cousin Kyle, whose birthday is January 23rd!

Here's Jack sitting on top of his favorite present from my aunt - a set of beginner drums! Our house hasn't been the same since, and I think I've grown a few more grey hairs!!

This past Saturday, we celebrated his birthday with his friends at Planet Jump! Every year, with the exception of his 2nd birthday, we have celebrated his birthday with his friend Anna (who is a week younger than Jack).

Here they are for their 1st birthday card picture.

Their 3rd birthday card picture.

And this year! Boy, they have grown up!!

Here are some shots from the party, there were so many people at Planet Jump because it was a rainy day.

The walls are just plain colors, so I made this banner to personalize it a little better. I love the way it turned out & it was so simple to make!

Jack, Anna & a friend coming down the big Superman slide!

Jack playing air hockey!

Best Buddies!

Our party room!! I think we needed a bigger room!

The cake! Instead of having a themed cake, we have always opted to put their picture on the cake to keep it neutral!

Jack having fun eating his face from the cake!

Back home getting ready to open presents!!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest 4 year old boy! Your mommy & daddy love you very much!

The kids and I are flying to Illinois tomorrow to see my best friend from college & her kiddos, crossing our fingers that there will be snow on the ground to play in too!! I have a few more posts to share from Nate's big birthday bash and an exciting new adventure for Mallory! I hope everyone has a great week!

What's For Dinner Wednesday Giveaway

2010-01-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

I thought it would be fun to start a little dinner party here on my blog. Back in the fall, I had a little contest with my local friends where I would send out an email with what I was cooking that night and they would reply to all and do the same. This was a great way to get some really delicious recipes! At the end of the week, I would put everyone's names that participated in a hat, and Mallory or Jack would pick a winner. The winner would get a little appliqued t-shirt for their child. I was going to do a weekly one here as well, but I don't know that I can commit to getting over to my sewing machine once a week, so we'll do it monthly! Each week that you participate, your name will go in to the hat for a great prize! The more times you participate, the more entries you will get! Don't have any kids? No problem, I have lots of other fun things I can make!

You can either link up below, using McLinky, or just type your recipe in the comments section (please leave your email address if you do it this way!)

Here's the first What's For Dinner Wednesday Recipe!

Amy's Hot Chicken Salad

4 cups of cooked & chopped chicken
3/4 cup mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded white American cheese (I didn't have any, so I used a Mexican Blend)
1 can of chopped water chestnuts
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 container of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of corn flakes

Mix all of the ingredients together and sprinkle the corn flakes on top.
Bake for 350* for 45 minutes to 1 hour

Enjoy!

Running

2010-01-21T15:21:00.002-05:00

During some point at the party this weekend, probably after a few too many drinks, I told one of my dear friends that I would run a 5K with her in March. We did our first run together on Tuesday, my first time running in a L.O.N.G. time. She has this cool "app" on her phone that shows some cool information! I think I did pretty good, only stopping twice, but there is lots of room for improvement!!

Preparing for the Party

2010-01-15T14:00:00.002-05:00

I have spent the entire week cleaning, organizing, shopping and painting for Nathan's big birthday bash tomorrow night. It's a repeat of last year's event HERE.

Aren't these invites adorable?

Dresser Reveal

2010-01-14T11:31:00.002-05:00

I have to say, for my first time refinishing something, this was pretty easy. It still needs a little smoothing with some steal wool and a coat of protective sealer, but I love the way it looks in my dining room now!

Here's the before:

Here's the after:

I used a can of Krylon white primer spray paint first, then 3-4 coats of Krylon Black Semi Gloss spray paint. With the handles, I used the primer spray, then 2 coats of Krylon Brushed Metallic - Satin Nickel. I love the spray paint, because it dries in just a few minutes. I did the drawers on Tuesday morning, then the base dresser and handles yesterday. I think it took about 3 1/2 hours total. Now I'm debating whether to paint my dining room set black... I might do the table black and the chair white, maybe with some cute custom seat cushions?

New Year's Resolution from my 5 year old

2010-01-12T09:57:00.002-05:00

I was trying to keep one of my New Year's Resolutions this weekend (keeping my desk area organized) and came across this among the piles of papers.

It reads: My resolution is to get lots of money to Mallory Matthews.

Really? I am aware of the gene in my family (from my dad's side) that is consumed with the thought of money (how much said person can get, what they are going to buy, etc.) and it's a dominant gene in my sister. I guess it's a dominant gene in Mallory too. Sigh...

I'm going to try to tackle one of this week's resolutions today, since it's going to be a balmy 56* this afternoon. Goodbye yucky cream with gold flecks of paint, hello glossy black!!

Brrr....

2010-01-11T14:01:00.000-05:00

It's COLD outside. Hope you are keeping warm!

Goodbye 2009, a year in review

2010-01-05T11:46:00.003-05:00

I know this is a little late, but that's the story of my life!

2009 was pretty good to the Matthews house.

It was filled with birthday parties...

Visits from far away friends...

Vacations to the beach and to see Mickey...

Demolition...

Construction...

Beautiful new spaces...

Getting ears pierced...

First days of kindergarten and riding the school bus...

Soccer games, scoring lots of goals...

Holiday parties...

Ended a business and started a new one...

and a goodbye to our sweet Aunt...

I am so blessed to have everyone that's dear to my heart, actually near my heart, everyone healthy and employed, friends that would do anything for me and my family, and a wonderful husband that loves me unconditionally. Here's to more fantastic memories in 2010.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T10:41:00.001-05:00

Here are a few images from around our house. I didn't get a few of the crafty things done that I wanted to, but there's always next year!

We are headed to a birthday party this afternoon, complete with a visit from Santa, then the kids are singing at the traditional service at church at 5:00. Please pray that they will be on their best behavior...last year was not-so-much-fun.

Here is the tree, my wire hanger ball wreath without it's bow, and Jack's stocking hanging from our new book shelves.

Snickelfritz, the elf, being mischievous in one of my hurricane lanterns.

My newly acquired Craig's List purchase (waiting to be coated black and get new hardware after the holidays) with some Christmas decorations.

Here's the wreath with it's bow. I struggled and struggled with this, as I couldn't get the ribbon to stay put. I just gave up and let it do what it wanted.

Our advent calendar, that I found at the MAXX for a bargain!!

Here are a few of the light displays at our local park. It was so cold the other night, most of my pictures are blurry, as I couldn't hold the camera still!

Look how small my kids look!

We want to thank everyone who reads our blog and has supported our businesses over the past few years. We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

Santa Overload

2009-12-21T15:25:00.001-05:00

Thursday night we had Santa come on the firetruck. They told us he will come between 6 and 9pm. He came right when the kids were getting out of the bath!!

It's a real big production for our town. The mayor, police chief, and commissioners all come out to deliver the presents that the parents provide.

Mallory is getting a lot more observant this year. She said to me after Santa had left, "Mommy, can you believe that Santa has the same wrapping paper that we do?" I need to be more careful next year for sure.

Friday night, we got to take a train to the North Pole! We did this last year, which you can read about HERE. We stepped it up this year and reserved the caboose. It was so much more fun and we brought a couple more friends with us too! We got to bring our own food and drinks aboard this time, so that was even better! The caboose was so cute, it was decorated with Christmas lights and wreaths, and it had some seats up in a second story, so the kids had a ball looking out the windows up there!

Here are the kids enjoying a cup of hot chocolate.

Making smores by the fire. Notice that Jack is spilling his hot chocolate as he roast the marshmallow!

Making reindeer food (you have to stick your tongue out when doing this apparently.)

Making a craft and picking out a tattoo!

There were carolers in the line to see Santa!

And FINALLY! Santa!

We had a great time and will reserve 2 cabooses next year so we can have more friends join in the fun!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2009-12-16T20:21:00.000-05:00

We got back from Orlando late Saturday night and it felt like we had just run a marathon.... We were wondering when we left, if it's called the happiest place on Earth, why are so many kids crying and parents looking miserable?

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was fun, but just a long night. It was from 7pm-midnight. I don't think my kids have ever stayed up that late. It was cold and rained a little during the parade. We stayed at the Port Orleans Resort, which was nice and the Disney bus could take us wherever we wanted to go.

This was right when we walked in the park. There was terrible red lighting...

The castle looked amazing when it was all lit up, but my camera wouldn't cooperate.

Mallory's favorite ride, "the couch ride" as she called it. Also known as the "Tomorrowland Transit Authority". I think we went on it twice that night.

The great thing about the special event, was there were only a certain amount of tickets sold, so we didn't wait in line for anything! It was great!
Here are some pictures from the parade. I didn't get that many, as it started to rain.

On Saturday, we went to the Animal Kingdom. It was a lot warmer and not crowded at all.

This tree is just amazing. You have to see it in person to see how really unbelievable it is.

I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures of the decorations around the house.

Look What Santa Brought Early!!

2009-12-10T21:36:00.002-05:00

Because he couldn't fit it on his sleigh, Santa dropped off this off to us!! We are all loving it (including all the neighborhood kids!)

Today, we had some friends over to make these adorable pretzel wreaths that I found HERE. For those of you in the Tampa area, ring shaped pretzels can be found at ALDI! We went through 2 big bags of pretzels and about 5 bags of Hershey kisses! Can you guess what I had for dinner :-)

To make these wreaths, you will need:
a cookie sheet lined with wax paper
1 bag of ring shaped pretzels (if you can't find them, you can use small twist ones)
your favorite flavor of Hershey Kisses - we used Hugs, dark chocolate, caramel, and almond!
1 bag of Holiday M&M's

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees
Place the pretzels on the wax paper lined cookie sheet
Unwrap the Hershey Kisses and place them inside the pretzels
Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 2-3 minutes
Once out of the oven, immediately put 1 M&M in the center of the Kiss and press down slightly.
After you fill them all up with M&M's, place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to cool.
Beware, you may eat mass amounts of these without realizing it!!
They are perfect to give to your neighbors and teachers!

We are headed out to the Happiest Place on Earth tomorrow after lunch to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! I hope the weather cooperates for us!! It's supposed to cold (for us Floridians!!), but hopefully not raining!

**Also, on a side note, I got my new camera yesterday and didn't even take it out of the box, returned it today and ordered the D90! It should be here next week, just in time for the kids to be off of school to be my little test models :-)

Why....

2009-12-07T20:58:00.000-05:00

does blogger have to stretch and make the picture above look all pixelated (is that even a word?) instead of keeping it the way it looked in my editing software 2 minutes ago? So frustrating... I need to figure out how to make it pretty, as it's the only picture of the four of us that we've taken in a long time! I know it's not the best photo, but what can you do when your kids (and husband) are sick of standing in front of the camera waiting for the timer to go off??

We finally got the lights and decorations on the tree tonight, after buying the tree over a week ago. I'll take some pictures tomorrow after I get all the boxes and pine needles cleaned up off the floor. We leave for Disney World on Friday and I'm thinking that I need to make the kids some festive things to wear to the parade...back to the sewing room!

Please Go Vote!!

2009-12-05T13:04:00.001-05:00

For this amazing photograph by one of the photographers that I adore!!

You can vote HERE!! I love all the Matilda Jane clothes!! Be sure to hit submit twice!! You can only vote one time from each computer!! She deserves this so much! Jen is so talented!!

Light at the end of the tunnel

2009-12-04T13:49:00.001-05:00

I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. 3 more shirts to complete and 3 more photo sessions (that have been rained out!!) and I will be done "working" for the season!

The sad thing is, all the money that I've made over the past month was just spent all in one place...the CAMERA STORE!! I noticed that almost all of the pictures that I was taking last week had this dark line on the bottom. I thought maybe it was from the speed light that I bought, so I headed up to Ritz Camera. Sadly, something happened and my shutters aren't working together. It was going to cost almost as much as a new camera to fix (and I've had it for 3 years), so I splurged and bought this baby!! It's on back order, so hopefully I will have it soon!! It is an upgrade from what I had, but I'm not sure how it's going to "feel" as they didn't have one for me to try out.

Before I bought it, I called Nate to see if he was getting his Christmas bonus...because if he was, I wanted to get this!! He said he didn't know...maybe he has other plans with the money :-)

I still may trade it in and get the D90, I have 30 days to decide :-)

Got Turkey?

2009-11-25T08:31:00.000-05:00

Busy x 3

2009-11-24T16:53:00.000-05:00

Although I pledged to slow down around the holidays, I have actually been more busy this past week than I have in a LONG time... My mom and I decided to stop sewing on eBay altogether, so I wanted to make a little extra money for Christmas and our trip to Disney for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas. I sent out an email to my friends with some samples of Thanksgiving and Christmas shirts that I was planning on selling. Boy, they sure were hungry for t-shirts! I think I got 30 shirt orders!! Instead of stopping there, I decided to try selling my photography services for Christmas photos. I have been booked solid with 1-3 sessions per day until December 5th. Between sewing, juggling my kids from place to place for the photo shoots, editing and trying to keep my house in order, I'm pooped!! (But we are going to have a FABULOUS time at Disney now and my Christmas cards have been ordered!)

FINALLY!!! I got a good picture of me with my babies!!

Here are some pictures from the photo shoots so far!!

Wonderful Christmas Gift

2009-11-15T20:58:00.000-05:00

I have a dear friend that I like to barter with... I sew some clothing for her darling little girls, and she paints for me! This morning at church, she told me my Thanksgiving wreath was ready! This is our 4th wreath from her and I love this one so much!! I was ready to put up our Christmas one, but it will have to wait 2 more weeks!!

Be sure to check out her website HERE! She has so many cute Christmas gifts for friends, family and teachers!

FULL

2009-11-14T08:58:00.000-05:00

I saw this on another blog a while back and thought it is so true... I think my husband needs to read it at least once a month when he thinks I have it so easy at home.

Stocking Stuffer Idea #1

2009-11-11T11:34:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping to get my Christmas shopping done early this year so I can enjoy myself a little more than in years past. It seems like I'm always out shopping and wrapping at the very last minute!! The kids have already made their lists and I'm ready to tackle them!!

I found this adorable website from a blogging friend of mine, Mandy.

This is what I ordered for the kiddos, as I'm getting tired of wiping sticky finger prints off of my new counters every morning!

You can find all of these goodies by clicking HERE. Plus, if you put FRIEND10 in the coupon code, you'll save 10% off of your complete order! They have tons of different things and color combinations to choose from! Go check them out!!

Child Labor

2009-11-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

Last Monday I was picking Jack up from school at noon and Nate called. He wanted to meet us for lunch (aka, Mommy hadn't gone to the grocery store over the weekend and there wasn't anything to eat at the house). When we were sitting there, I told Nate that we got Jack's tuition statement that day and how much it was.

Nate: Wow, Jack. I think it's time for you to get a job to start helping with your preschool tuition.
Jack: I already have a job, Daddy.
Nate: You do???
Jack: Yes, I was the door holder today. That's my job.
Nate: How much does being a door holder pay?
Jack: "Nofing"

Halloween Festivities

2009-11-09T10:56:00.001-05:00

We have had so much fun these past few weeks with the weather getting nicer (except for Hurricane Ida looming around this week!!) I have lots to share, but thought that I would share some Halloween pictures.

First, is the party in Jack's class. Everyone dressed up in their costumes, had a special snack, and then went upstairs for some fun games. Parent volunteers were stationed in each room with Halloween themed games. I was in charge of the pumpkin water table :-)

That same afternoon, we headed over to a friend's house and decorated cookies!

On Friday, Mallory's class went on their first field trip!! They got to bring their costumes to school and put them on right before we headed out on the bus to the retirement home to trick or treat. Here is the class with their teacher right before we left!

Later that afternoon, the kindergarten classes put on their nursery rhyme hats that they created and paraded throughout the entire school. All of the other classes came out to cheer them on. It was so much fun!!

Saturday was fun filled for us!! Mallory had her final soccer game of the season, then we headed over to my dad's business to celebrate with the team. We all played putt-putt golf and had ice cream! We took a little rest and then got the kids dressed for a birthday/halloween party! I couldn't convince Mallory to be a Gator Cheerleader this year...

Everyone pooped out after the parade down our street!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!!!

2009-10-26T20:02:00.000-04:00

We have been a busy bunch of pumpkin collectors these past few weeks!!

First, it was our annual Pumpkin Playdate with our best friends. We all meet at the pumpkin patch, take a million pictures of the kids running around (this year they actually stopped and POSED for pictures!) They must be growing up!

Then we all head over to my friend, Kim's house where the real fun begins! The kids paint and decorate their pumpkin's to their heart's desire. Our pumpkins turned out pretty well. The last few years we have come home with black pumpkins from all the paint colors mixing! It was rainy and wet outside, so we didn't get a whole lot of pictures sadly!

Then, the next day, we took the kids and a dear friend down to Bradenton to Hunsader's Farm Pumpkin Festival. It was a great time!

Nate and the kids getting ready for the Hayride through the farm. It was really neat for the kids to see an actual farm with strawberries, blueberries, corn and tomatoes!

This thing was really cool. It was a Pumpkin Cannon. Every hour on the hour they would shoot a pumpkin out of it. We thought the pumpkin would fly about 100 feet or so, but this pumpkin that we saw flew probably 500 feet or more!

Next on the list was Jack's Pumpkin Walk at the Preschool.
We get the kids loaded up in the wagons and head down to the docks by the bay to listen to a few Halloween stories told by the Preschool Director.

Jack listening intently to the story...

Then the kids run like crazy to pick out a pumpkin that we've placed in the grass area.

We have also been to Mallory's school for a pumpkin patch AND to our town's trick or treat night at the park, both of which I didn't bring my camera to. I did take pictures of the kids in their costumes before we left, but I might save those for later, just in case I forget to bring my camera Halloween night! :-)

Mallory has a Halloween field trip on Friday that I'm helping with, so I will be sure to take lots of pictures then!

Stealing

2009-10-17T08:42:00.000-04:00

Last night we were sitting on the couch watching the Lassie movie with the kids before bed, and Mallory (with her brain never shutting down) and I have this conversation:

Mallory: Why do people like to steal from us?
Me: I don't know anyone who steals from us, who are you talking about?
Mallory: You know, like the people at the grocery store, at the restaurants and Target?
Me: You mean the cashiers and the waitresses?
Mallory: Yes, they always take your money (credit card) and don't give you anything back.
Me: Sweetheart, we have to PAY for those things...
Mallory: Oh...

We like to give the kids money at the checkout line for them to pay for things and she is used to getting change back, so when she sees that I don't get any change back from using my credit card, she thinks they are stealing my money! We got a good chuckle out of that!

New Ebay Listing and fun adventure

2009-10-14T20:12:00.000-04:00

First of all, sorry it's been SO long since I've posted anything. We've been so busy around here, not doing anything special, just getting through the days... It's been EXTREMELY HOT for October for us, breaking heat records almost everyday. We normally don't get in the 90's in October. Thankfully, there is a cold front coming tomorrow and it's supposed to be 55 Sunday morning!! Break out the winter coats!!

We have been decorating the front of the house with fun Halloween things. I'll try to get some pictures of them tomorrow and post what it looks like!!

I hosted a baby shower last weekend with a bunch of friends for a girlfriend that is having her third little girl in a few weeks. I was in charge of making a quiche (which I'll post the delicious recipe soon) and the favors. Her colors for the nursery are pink and brown. I got the idea for the favors from BAKERELLA, and boy were they a hit!! I think I made mine WAY too big, but they were delicious! I just took some terracotta pots that I had and spray painted them pink and then painted the brown dots on them with craft paint. Christine took the pots home with her to decorate the nursery with!

So now on to the fun adventure... A few weeks ago Nate went out spear fishing with some guys from work, so my mom and I took the kids bowling. We thought bowling would be so much fun a) because we went to a birthday party at the same place and the kids loved it and b) they love bowling on the Wii. Boy, were we wrong!!

"THIS BALL IS TOO HEAVY!!"

Mallory is a pro at Wii bowling, beating all of us 90% of the time, so this was really hard for her.

She didn't want help, but finally gave in and let us.

All Jack cared about was eating. He thought the menu was the neatest thing.

Here is our newest listing on eBay. Snow Bunny, it's OOAK, best fit 3/4/5. So cute for winter!!

You can find the listing HERE.

Soccer Season is a BLAST!!!

2009-09-28T20:26:00.000-04:00

Mallory is LOVING soccer this year. Maybe it's because she knows what she's doing now (with the exception of trying to sometimes control the ball with her hands), or maybe it's the fact that her favorite person of all time is her coach, or maybe it's all the friends on the same team, or maybe it's the uniform...they named themselves the Orange Pumpkins!! Who knows, maybe it's everything all mixed in to one.

She is smiling and dancing and even getting mad when she is taken out of the game to allow other kids a chance. Mallory scored 4 goals the first game and 4 goals in the second game!!

First, here are the Orange Pumpkin Cheerleaders!! (**side note** Please don't attempt to take a tattoo off of your son's arm for picture day with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It will burn his skin off and leave a bad scar!! Bad Mommy!!)

Let's see some enthusiasm!!??

How many have you scored??

Mallory, we are so proud of you for giving soccer another try this year!! Way to go!!

The Kitchen Reveal & Game/Giveway!

2009-09-23T11:08:00.001-04:00

***UPDATE*** WE HAVE A WINNER!!! ANNETTE, PLEASE EMAIL ME!!!

So we aren't 100% done, and who really knows when that will ever happen! LOL I'm going to share some before and after pictures so you can see how far we have come!

We still have some painting and grouting to do, but the structure is complete and I have the fabric for window seat cushions...still searching for the coordinating prints for the pillows and my chair that needs to be recovered. I'm thinking of using lime green and a coral color for the pillows and accent colors. I'm going to paint the bar stools black (hopefully before our big Thanksgiving dinner!).

****Preschool style game/giveaway!! The first person to leave a comment with the correct answer to "What is wrong with this photo?" in the 4th photo down, wins a prize to be determined!!****

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

These are just some random before and after, they don't necessarily show the exact sport where things were.

And here is my inspirational kitchen photo. I think my kitchen looks pretty similar to this! Yay! Mission Completed!!

I Love...

2009-09-18T21:41:00.000-04:00

1. I Love that Mallory is thriving at her new school. She is reading so many little story books now and really gets the concept of addition and subtraction. Maybe she has her mom's math brain.
2. I Love that I got the sweetest little drawing from Mallory today. It was a giant rainbow heart and above it she wrote, I can Love. (The sight words this week were I CAN.)
3. I Love that her new school had a Family Picnic at one of our favorite parks tonight. There were so many families and teachers with their families there, all chatting and having a good time.
4. I Love that I met another "normal" mom tonight at the picnic. Yay! A friend at the new school. Her little girl is in a different kindergarten class, but they go to recess at the same time. We exchanged phone numbers with plans for a playdate soon!
5. I Love that when I went to volunteer at Mallory's school on Thursday, the volunteer coordinator asked if I was a college student coming to get my hours...maybe I still have it :-)
6. I Love that I am able to take my little boy to the beach in the afternoon just to play in the waves and build a sandcastle decorated with bird feathers and "monkey cigars" (I really don't know what those things are called, but I remember my dad calling them that when I was little).
7. I Love that my husband works his tail off so I can go to the beach or the park or the toy store...or to the mall for something I NEED.
8. I Love that my mom and I are so close. I can tell her anything. It's rare that a day goes by that we don't see each other or talk on the phone. I'm so lucky.
9. I Love that my kitchen is almost, almost, almost done. Why does the last 2% always take the longest to finish? I know I promised pictures...soon!!
10. I Love that God is working on a miracle for sweet Kate. You remember THIS little girl that I asked you to pray for a while back? She reminds me so much of Mallory. I had to do something for their family, so I am making them outfits for their Make a Wish trip to Disney World!
111. I Love that my dear friend that lives a couple thousand miles away knows just the right words to write in a card to make me smile after a hard couple of weeks. The kids and I can't wait to see her and her family this fall!!

Maddie*Kate: New Rudolph and the Misfit Toys Christmas Listing

2009-09-16T16:52:00.000-04:00

So...I'm still a major SLACKER on the blog scene here...lots going on around the house and on my mind...I'm starting to volunteer at Mallory's school at least once a week now, so I can get a better grasp on the whole school thing. We are allowed to come at eat lunch (at 10:15AM!!) with them, so I went last Friday and really enjoyed getting to know her new teacher and her classmates. New teacher=Mr. Popio, her teacher for the first 2 weeks of school, got a promotion to another school and I was really upset about it until I met Ms. Jones. She is really young and sweet and so patient with the kids. Mallory loves her because she looks like Jordan from Big Brother, LOL!

Mallory has also started taking tennis lessons on Mondays as well as soccer again this year, with practices on Tuesdays and games on Saturdays. I was a little hesitant with the whole soccer thing, if you remember THIS, but her little buddies are on her team and Nate is the coach. So far so good!!

How about a group hug?

So here is our newest listing on Ebay for Ivylane's Magical launch... Silly us thought that Rudolph was part of Disney!

You can find it HERE.

Maddie*Kate - New Snowman Set Listed!

2009-09-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

I'm a huge slacker this week with the blog... I have so much to blog about, but feel like my days are just zooming by! Hopefully I will be all caught up tomorrow and can share some of what's been going on, plus show the 99.9% finished kitchen! (That is, without any decorations yet, but it's CLEAN!!)

So, we just listed this darling little snowman set for a guest launch we participated in. We had to choose a song, and we chose "Let It Snow", which is funny, as it NEVER snows where we live!

You can find the listing by clocking HERE.

Mallory was being so silly in these pictures!

Maddie*Kate: New Brother and Sister set up on eBay!

2009-09-03T21:41:00.000-04:00

My kids LOVE their dog, as most of you know already, so I thought I'd make them some cute Fall sets with this adorable knit that I had in my stash. Mallory can't wait for it to cool down here so she can wear hers to school!

You can find the girls listing HERE.

And the boys listing HERE.

Jack's First Day of School!

2009-09-02T11:36:00.000-04:00

Jack had his Sip & See on Monday to meet his new teacher in the 3 year old class, Mrs. Delancey. There are also 2 aides in his class, Ms. Shelley, who was one of Mallory's teacher's last year, and Ms. Joyce.

Here is the little art project that he did. Of course it was ORANGE AND BLUE!!!

Here is Jack, his sweet little girlfriend, Anna, and Mrs. Delancey. Mrs. Delancey is the BEST teacher around! I wish I could just take her along with my kids as they grow older and have her be their teacher forever. She taught Mallory so much when she was in the 3 year old class, it's really amazing.

The first day of school for Jack was not as nerve racking for me, as we are so used to this great little preschool and he is with all his friends. I'm so proud of him, as he just walked in his class and waved goodbye! He is normally my crier, so he did so well!!

This is right outside of the preschool! (I didn't punch him in the eye before school, he just happened to get bitten by a mosquito!!)

In class playing with his friends!

The Yellow Card...

2009-08-31T20:00:00.000-04:00

In Mallory's little "Welcome to Kindergarten" packet, there was a letter that explained what her teacher expected of them for the first few weeks, just basic rules. Also, instead of him writing a little something in each child's folder, he would send home little cards: Green = followed rules; Yellow = working on following rules; Red = not following rules.

On the first day, she came home with a yellow card. I thought, no big deal, it's a huge adjustment. The second day, she got a green card, YIPPEE!! My girl is going to be a STAR in kindergarten!! The third day, she comes off the bus and says that she doesn't want to go back to school anymore. All I could think of was that someone was mean to her. That wasn't the case at all. I looked in her folder and there was another yellow card, but this time her teacher had written something on the bottom...oh dear... "Not listening or following directions today." So after a lot of questions, Mallory told me what happened. Apparently they have to wait in line to be called out to the playground after lunch. If you know Mallory, she's not a big fan of waiting for anything. She decided to just go ahead and head out to the playground without being called. Mr. Popio told her to get back in line and she didn't. Off to time-out she went. If this is where it ended, I would have been okay with that, talked to her about being patient, and then move on with our evening. But that was only half of it. She then went on to tell me that she sat in circle time with her arms crossed and a mean look on her face. I asked her why. "I'm SO mad at Mr. Popio, he didn't even apologize for putting me in time-out!" OH DEAR!!!!! We had lots and lots of conversations about how to act in school and who was boss!! She even drew him a picture and said that she was sorry and she would listen better.

My stomach was in knots the whole next day just thinking of the trouble that she was getting in to or what she was saying to Mr. Popio!! I really wasn't even thinking of the next day, I was thinking about the next few months, all the conferences with the teachers, guidance counselors, principals, etc. BUT SHE CAME HOME WITH A GREEN CARD!!!!! (and did again today!) Now I am back to thinking that she is the star of kindergarten again!!

Meet My New Kindergartener!!

2009-08-25T18:40:00.000-04:00

Mallory did AWESOME today!! We had a little issue last night when I informed her of her friends that were on the waiting list for another school got in to the other school, but she rebounded perfectly today! I am so proud of her!! I was a wreck all day, I think I had tears in my eyes the entire day just thinking about what was going through her mind...

When we got to school, we walked up to her classroom, walked right in, I gave her a big hug and she turned and walked over to her seat. Miss Independent!! She said they didn't have much time at lunch, so we are going to work on eating a little faster at home. It was lightning outside, so there wasn't any recess or P.E.

I kept looking at my watch all day and when it said 2:46, I knew that she would be on her way to the bus pick up. I felt like I could throw up!! The bus was supposed to drop her off at 3:23, but it was about 10 minutes late. She was the last one off, but was so excited and proud of herself!! She even asked if she could ride the bus tomorrow!! I guess that means she wants to go back to school too!

Kindergarten Meet & Greet

2009-08-24T14:41:00.000-04:00

I have been dreading this day since summer began. Today we got to meet Mallory's new kindergarten teacher, Mr. Popio. My stomach was doing flip flops and I was doing all I could to keep the tears from coming on the long walk up to the school. We ran in to one of our dear neighbors in the hallway and her daughter took us down to the classroom, as she had Mr. Popio last year. Outside of the door there was a list of all the names of the children in the class. We saw a few names that we knew!! One of Mallory's best friends is in her class, but she is #2 on the waiting list (remember THIS post)so she will probably be leaving sooner than later. Once we got inside, I took a deep breath and I was FINE!! NO tears and no more butterflies in my stomach! Mallory was so excited to see where she was going to sit and where her cubby was.

The class is a great size, there are 17 kids total and it's right next to the playground!

Here is Mallory and her friend signing in.

Mallory holding her folder with 800 things for me to fill out tonight and bring back tomorrow!

The girls and Mr. Popio!

Summer Time Minor League Baseball Game Fun

2009-08-22T21:53:00.000-04:00

So our church had a deal at our local Minor League Baseball game tonight. $13 all-you-can-eat-and drink. The stadium is so nice and kid friendly, and Nate helped build it, so all the more merrier. We met up with some friends and had a great time. I didn't see a lick of the baseball game but enjoyed the food and friendship!

Here's a great picture (Note: this was taken with a camera phone) of the kids right when we walked in with the Clearwater Thresher's mascot. In case you didn't know, a Thresher is a shark :-)

Ouchie, Ouchie, Ouchie!!

2009-08-20T21:20:00.000-04:00

All last week, Mallory couldn't stop talking about getting her ears pierced. I thought it was because a girl at camp had them pierced. But no, it was because she spent one afternoon in my mom's jewelry box admiring all of her pretty earrings!! I kept telling her how bad it hurt and the possibility of them getting infected, etc. She didn't care, she wanted them pierced!! So off we went to the mall... She was grinning so big, sitting up in the chair, picking out her earrings and listening to the lady tell her about taking care of her ears.

Me, I was hiding behind my camera, as I knew what was coming.

I have to say, she was so brave!! All we heard was a few "Ouchie's" and a few tears were shed (by her and me!). Her grin did disappear very quickly though, and it was replaced by a terribly mad face. She wasn't mad at me or the ear piercing lady, I think she wasn't expecting it to hurt as bad as it did. My mom went with us and asked her what it felt like. "It felt like they were driving screws in my ears, Gammy!" LOL

She looks SO grown up to me now... Here is a shot from our beach pictures this morning. We were practicing getting up for school, as kindergarten starts on Tuesday, so we didn't have anything better to do at 8:00 this morning!

New Yummy Recipes!!

2009-08-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

Since it's the weekend and I refuse to cook anything on the weekend, I thought I'd share a few recipes that I thoroughly enjoy!!

Hot Chicken Salad

4 cups chopped chicken
3/4 cup mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded white american cheese
1 can of sliced water chestnuts, chopped
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 cup of corn flakes, crumbled

Mix the first 6 ingredients together, pour in a 9x12 pan, then sprinkle the corn flakes on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min to 1 hour

---------------

Overnight Coffee Cake, AKA "Ooey Gooey" Coffee Cake

One of my sweet friends made this on our last girls weekend at the beach. It was perfect for the hangovers we all had!! It was served with some fresh sliced fruit and orange juice!!

1 pkg frozen Parker House Rolls
1 pkg instant Butterscotch pudding (small size)
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
2 tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1/2 cup Pecan Pieces (if desired)

In a greased bundt pan, layer half of each of the above listed items. Then repeat.
Let it sit out overnight covered with a piece of wax paper prayed with Pam, then put a piece of tin foil over that. In the morning, punch the rolls back down.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Anna Maria Island Vacation Photos - Day 1

2009-08-13T10:47:00.000-04:00

So it's been a month since we took our little vacation to the beach and I'm just getting around to the photos. I need to discipline myself better and just get it done the day after we get back, but I never do. There were 5 families that went this year. The place we stayed at was amazing, except you had to cross the road to get to the beach.

These are pictures from the day that we arrived.

Mallory and Jack all lathered up with sunscreen, ready to hit the beach!

Darling little man G.

The guys and their kids.

I have LOTS more pictures to share, I just need to sit down and get them edited...but the dirty wood floors are calling my name!!

Mallory Modeling

2009-08-12T09:12:00.000-04:00

With us taking most of the summer off with the kitchen remodel, Mallory hasn't been wanting to model the few things that we have been listing. About the same time that our dear friend, Debbie, asked us to model a few sets for her, Mallory started asking for a new Barbie movie, Barbie Mermaidia. Do I dare bribe her with this new movie I thought??? Of course I did! And look at the results! A happy little girl having a blast modeling these adorable clothes!

And check out this amazing little hand painted tote!

You can find all the matching pieces HERE.

Maddie*Kate - New Halloween Listing & Pumpkin Resell

2009-08-09T14:12:00.001-04:00

We just listed this adorable 3-pc Hello Kitty Halloween set on eBay. Set consists of blouse, Euro top and skirt complete with it's own pettiskirt. Custom sized 2T-8
You can find the listing HERE.

Also, we listed this darling Fall Pumpkin sample set from last year. Also 3pcs, best fit 3-4, possible slim 5.
You can find the listing HERE.

Almost there....

2009-08-03T20:37:00.000-04:00

We have the cabinet guys coming back tomorrow to install the panels on the refrigerator and the dishwasher, the cabinet hardware and hopefully put up the other bookcase that's been sitting in the middle of my dining room for a couple of weeks now. We are still waiting on the refrigerator hardware to come in and I need to get up to the tile store this week to pick out what I want for my back splash.

I actually cooked my first meal in the new oven, Stuffed Chicken Parmesan!! It was YUMMY! Desert was chocolate cake that Nate and the kids made on Saturday. It felt so good to sit down at our table and eat as a family, not out at a restaurant somewhere.

So I bought these bar stools at a bare wood store this weekend (2 more are on there way from another store) that are a replica of THIS chair from Pottery Barn but WAY cheaper, and I can't decide if I want to paint them black or another color. What do you think?

I think I'm going to get a little bench to put under the desk area with a matching cushion from the fabrics that I will use on the window seats. A chair just seems out of place there, don't you think?

Here is a picture of my newly configured living room. Next summer, our plan is to push this room out about 10 feet, add a pool, a playroom for the kids and a master bathroom (as our master bath is the size of a hall closet right now!) We'll see where the economy is before taking the plunge, as we will have to do a lot of reconfiguring with the roof line, which is very costly.

Maddie*Kate Resells!!

2009-08-02T16:14:00.000-04:00

I just looked up Boutique MK on eBay, and look what I found!!

You can find the Back to School set HERE.

So cute little monsters!! Find it HERE.

And sweet little owls! So fun for Fall! You can find them HERE.

Sneaky (and stuffed) Sammy

2009-07-29T18:37:00.000-04:00

Meet our dog, Sam, aka Sammy, Puppy Love (my name for her), "dog-dog", and many other nicknames along the way as the kids were learning how to talk.

She is a German Short Haired Pointer. Sammy is 7 1/2 years old and we've had her since she was about 12 weeks old. She is my best friend while I'm sewing and late at night watching my favorite shows. She is such a great dog with the kids, always letting them do whatever they want with her. Sometimes this involves them having a piece of food in their hands running through the house having her chase them. Other times, it's them trying to turn her into a sled dog by tying belts to her collar and them sitting on towels to see if she will pull them around the house. She's very athletic, running 3 miles every morning with Nate. She will play on the playground with the kids, climbing up the rock wall and sliding down the slide (I wish I had a picture of this!). All around, I think she is the perfect dog...ALMOST!!

You see, within the past 9 months, Sammy has been to the vet's office 3 different times, racking up hundreds of dollars in bills, all because she loves to eat!!

November 3, 2008 I had just dropped the kids off at school after a weekend filled with Halloween candy! I had some left over candy that never got passed out, so I put it on the very back part of our stove thinking it was safe. Nope! I walked in the door to find two empty plastic bags, one Twix (my favorite) and one Tootsie (another favorite). There were very few wrappers left and no candy! I grabbed her leash and we headed out the door. This was a blessing in disguise, as she had eaten 6 cupcakes 2 weeks before and (unbeknown to me) swallowed one of the plastic little decorations that the grocery store put on them. When they made her throw up, the little plastic decoration came up too. There was no way that she would have been able to pass it on her own. Whew! But, I was still mad that she ate my favorite candy! This only cost her a few hours at the vet and no medications to take.

See the embarrassment on her face?

Fast forward to April of this year. Our grocery store was having a buy-one-get-one-free deal on graham crackers. I thought I would buy 2 and donate them to the kids preschool for snack time. Silly me, I left the 2 unopened boxes on the counter and left to run more errands. Once again, I see two empty boxes on the ground! This trip cost her 2 nights at the vet, lots of medicine to take and special dog food to eat for a week.

Last week, Mallory was getting a breakfast bar out of our make-shift pantry (a giant Tupperware container) and she forgot to put the lid back on it, along with the 2 pillows for added weight to keep Sammy out. We were gone for about an hour and came home to find the entire pantry spread out across the house, all empty containers. So off we went to the vet again!!!

All this talk about food makes me hungry!!

Off to hunt for a bird!

This is what happens....

2009-07-27T16:20:00.000-04:00

When you tell your 5 year old to go wait in the car while you finish getting things packed for the day and she digs through your purse sitting on the passenger side seat.

Later that evening, I confront the only person (other than Nate and myself) that can write in our house.

Me: I wonder who wrote in pen in Mommy's car today?
Mallory: silence
Me: Was it you?
Mallory: no.
Me: Who else knows how to write in our house?
Mallory: Daddy. (long silence) It was Daddy.

I'm SURE Daddy goes around with a pen and writes "Mommy" in people's car. Sure. I thought Mallory was my honest one. She always tells me the truth, even if it means she's going to get in trouble. Jack is the one I had to worry about.

A typical day in Jack's 3 year old life.

Me: (after seeing that he's peed a little in his pants) Jack, do you need to go potty?
Jack: no.
Me: Are you sure you don't need to go potty? Let's try to go real quick.
Jack: I don't need to go Mommy.
Me: Did you pee a little in your pants?
Jack: no.
Me: Well, then who did?
Jack: Daddy.

Poor Daddy gets blamed for everything while he is hard at work everyday.

Kitchen - Getting Closer

2009-07-24T15:46:00.000-04:00

So, the cabinet guys left today and probably won't be back until after the granite is installed next Thursday. They ran out of crown molding and can't put the other bookcase in until after the granite is in. Hopefully the crown molding will be in stock by next week...I'm a little tired of listening to the saws, sanders and nail guns, so it will be a nice little break.

Here's how it looks today! I got a sweet little model to help with the pictures :-)

This is the faucet that will be going in next week, in a satin nickel finish.

Also, I ordered these today, that should be here next week too! Crossing my fingers on this, as I can't open any of the cabinets or drawers without hardware!

The appliances are scheduled to be installed next Friday, so maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to cook something for the first time in almost 2 months!!

Pray for Kate

2009-07-23T13:26:00.000-04:00

This little girl reminds me so much of Mallory with her looks and her personality, it's kind of scary. She was a perfectly normal 5 year old little girl until June 29th, when she went to the doctor because of a tremor in her hand. Please read her story HERE and pray for her and her family.

Cabinets, Bookcases and Appliances Oh My!

2009-07-22T10:05:00.000-04:00

Things have been really busy at our house this week!! The cabinets arrived last Friday. I wasn't home when they were delivered, so I was shocked when I saw how many there actually were! They took up practically the whole room!

They started installing/laying everything out on Saturday, and after they left yesterday, this is what we have so far!

This is my favorite spot, a little mud room for the kids to put all their stuff when they walk in the door from school.

Also while I was gone yesterday, all the appliances (with the exception of the cook top that is back ordered until SEPTEMBER, grrrr....) arrived!! I have NO idea how they got the refrigerator through the front door and how it didn't leave a mark on the ceiling!!

We are getting so close to being able to have a kitchen, I can hardly stand it!! The granite company is supposed to come out tomorrow to template and then it's another 7 days until they will install it. Who would have thought a granite company would be so busy with the way the economy is right now?

I will update with more pictures soon!!

Maddie*Kate - New Back to School Outfit w/ Oilily Fabric

2009-07-16T22:12:00.000-04:00

Here is our first Fall/Back to School set for the year!!
3-pc set includes top, skirt & leggings, we call it "Groovy Girl"
You can find the listing by clicking HERE.

We were really shocked that Mallory would even take pictures today, as she was a PILL all day long. As soon as we got outside, she turned on the charm!!

We also listed this resell from Halloween. It's best fit for a 2-3-4 year old. The exact measurements are in the listings.

You can find this listing by clicking HERE.

Kitchen Update!!

Cabinets are arriving tomorrow!!! I cannot wait!! We had a little hiccup with the wood floors, as the wood we bought to match the existing floor wouldn't fit in to the grooves of the existing floors. So, instead of just replacing 10-12 boards, they had to rip up a big section of the floor and use a router to re-size the grooves. While this was all happening, Nate decided that he thought it would be a good idea for me to just go down to the wood floor store and pick out what I wanted originally...sigh...if he would have only listened 6 weeks ago...Anyway, they fixed the floors and they look great!

I spent all day yesterday going through paint sample books trying to find the perfect color. I finally realized that there isn't a perfect color and picked something called "Seafoam", as I'm going with the whole Seaside feel to my house. Seafoam, Seaside...should be close to perfect! The color went up today and I really like it, but it's really light. I don't know how it's going to look with the white cabinets, we'll just have to wait and see!

The color I circled is the color that I chose. I say that "I" chose it, as Nate wanted the darker green color.

4th of July Festivities

2009-07-14T09:36:00.000-04:00

We just got back from a little weekend vacation to Anna Maria Island with 4 other couples and their kids. We had a great time, the place was amazing that we stayed in and the weather was perfect. I will post pictures soon, as I took 756 pictures!!

A new tradition was started last year in our neighborhood to have a bicycle parade on the 4th of July. Everyone is supposed to decorate their bikes in red, white and blue and parade around our little circle.

The parade started at 9am, and it was already 90 degrees outside!! One of our Town Commissioners got the parade started with a little speech and fireworks!

This is Mallory's 2nd trip around the block!! Speed Racer!

The perfect ending to a bicycle parade is POPSICLES!!

After we cooled down, the kids wanted to go catch some fish with the cast net. The fish must have thought it was too hot too, as we didn't catch anything.

My sister was having a huge party at her house, so I got the kids dressed in their matching outfits that I made them :-) You can find this adorable fabric HERE.

The day was filled with eating, swimming, sliding and finished off with some fireworks in the neighborhood. Everyone was too tired to make it to the big fireworks this year, and apparently, I was too tired to take any pictures of the fireworks!

Mallory's Birthday Party

2009-07-07T21:09:00.001-04:00

We had so much fun at Mallory's Birthday Party!! She had decided back in NOVEMBER that her party was going to be at Future Flipz, a gymnastics studio, and that's where we had it!! There was so much for the kids to do and they had their own instructor, so the parents got to sit back and just relax! Mallory's theme was My Little Pony, so we picked out the perfect cake, plates, napkins and pinata! Never did I imagine what a chaotic place it would become after the pinata was broken and some of the kids didn't get a certain type of candy!! There won't be anymore pinatas at any parties that I host again!

Here's the birthday girl right before we left for the party!

Future Flipz writes the names of the kids having a party at their gym that day, which was so cute to see!

Mallory practicing her cartwheel and swinging on a rope into the foam pit.

Some party goers patiently waiting their turns on the rope.

Butterfly and Kitchen update!!

2009-07-02T20:54:00.000-04:00

Our caterpillars arrive on June 17th and 3 days later (on Mallory's birthday), we had this!

All five of them had made their christhylists and now the waiting game was on! They said it would take between 7-10 days for the butterflies to emerge, but ours came a little sooner! Mallory wanted to keep them in their little net cage, but I didn't like that idea, as it was so small. On Sunday morning after a donut breakfast, we decided to let them go!

All in all, I think it was a great experience for the kids to see. Once the kitchen is complete and all the dust has settled, I think we are going to get the ladybug set!

Speaking of the kitchen, we are making great strides this week!! All the A/C vents are in their proper places, the electrical wiring is pretty much done until the cabinets and appliances get here, the plumbing is complete (after they dug a HUGE trench through the kitchen concrete and terrazzo for the new drain in the island) and we have a new wall and the drywall is going up!! Nathan and I are going to pick out the paint color tomorrow as well as the hardware for the cabinets and drawers! He has the day off and the kids will be in camp! Woo-hoo!

Here are some pictures from this afternoon.

See the diagonal line running across this picture? That's from the new plumbing line!

Gradulation Day

2009-06-30T20:27:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is a whole MONTH late, but that's the story of my life these days!! We are in the home stretch of our kitchen remodel and I SO can't wait to start cooking again and losing these few extra pounds that I've gained from eating out!!

Mallory graduated from preschool on May 28th. It was a very bitter sweet day for me to see how far my little girl has come since starting at the school the day that she turned 2. I knew she was ready to move on to kindergarten, but I'm just not quite ready for her to go. I never thought that I would be "one of those moms" that cried and carried on about the first day of kindergarten, but I KNOW that I'll be that mom!! Mallory will be starting at a new school, more than likely, without her best little friends, which breaks my heart.

Back to the graduation ceremony...

We took some family photos before we left. I didn't have anyone to take a true family picture, so these will have to do.

I had to throw some in here of Jack, as he was just too cute for words.

All the kids met in the church lobby to take some pictures and get on their cap and "gowns". There was a swim party at my friends house during the day, so most of the little girls had red eyes from the chlorine.

Mallory and her teachers, Ms. Stacey and Ms. Shelley.

Here is a picture of the silhouettes that they did the last week of school.

Here she is getting her diploma!!

After the ceremony, the 2 classes sang a little song, to the tune of I've been working on the railroad.

I've been going to my preschool,
all the whole year long.
I've been going to my preschool,
and I've learned a lot of songs.
I can count and say my letters,
I know my shapes and colors too.
I've been going to my preschool,
all the whole year through.

Gradulation day, gradulation day,
gradulation day is finally here.
Gradulation day, gradluation day,
gradulation day is here.

Kindergarten here I come,
Kindergarten, I will be there soon.
Kindergarten here I come,
I'll be in a brand new school.

It still brings tears to my eyes...

**Did you notice how I spelled "graduation" in the song? Mallory pronounces it with an "l", like you would say "Congratulation", but it's "gradulation". It's so cute, as ever since she was 18 months old, she could pronounce anything perfectly. Jack...not so much...so I think it's cute how she pronounces it. Same thing with "Hallelujah", she drops that last "l" and puts two long "u"'s instead, like "halleuujah". Her knew VBS CD has a song with hallelujah in the chorus and I just love to her her pronounce it!!

Maddie*Kate: New Minnie Mouse Listing on eBay!

2009-06-25T16:56:00.000-04:00

We took a little trip to Disney last week to meet a friend and celebrate Mallory's birthday. Of course, she needed something special to wear, so here it is!!

You can find the listing by clicking HERE.

Love this one in Minnie's house at the sewing machine!!

I will have more pictures from our trip and Mallory's birthday tomorrow!! I'm finally starting to catch up on things, as I shipped out my FINAL custom set yesterday for the summer!! It felt like a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders!

F-I-V-E

2009-06-20T10:14:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that five years ago today (on Father's Day), after 18 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing, that I had my sweet little girl, Mallory Kate. I could tell right from the beginning that even though she was a spitting image of her father on the outside, she was going to be JUST like me on the inside.

Mallory, you are an amazing little girl and your daddy and I are so proud of the person that you are becoming. You are so sweet and giving, always thinking of others. You love arts and crafts and always have some special creation to give to us, your friends, your teachers, the neighbors, the mailman... You love performing on stage singing and dancing. You know the words to entire songs after hearing them only a few times and you love making up your own songs too. You are VERY strong-minded (like your mom). You are so smart, already learning to sound out words, counting to 100, and spelling so many words. You are going to do so well in kindergarten!! You love spending the afternoons at Gammy's house, having "special treats", doing art projects and watching movies. You are such a nice sister to Jack, always sharing and playing with him (maybe you are just being nice so he will let you sleep in his bed at night:-))

We hope that F-I-V-E will be a wonderful year for you Mallory! We love you!

Mom & Daddy

Back from Disney!

2009-06-18T20:43:00.000-04:00

We had a great time, except we had to leave a little earlier than expected, as it was pouring down rain and I pulled something in my lower back, so carrying 2 kids the rest of the day was out of the question!! Here's a little sneak peek at our trip and of a new set that we will be listing in the coming days!

Fun Entertainment for kids this summer

2009-06-17T13:24:00.001-04:00

A couple of months ago at Mallory's preschool, her teacher ordered some caterpillars for the kids to watch turn in to butterflies. Mallory was amazed by this whole process and came home each day telling me what was happening with them. I was at Target a few weeks ago looking for something to buy her for her graduation present and found this. We filled out the form to get our caterpillars and sent it in. Well, the caterpillars arrived today!!! She is going to be so excited when she gets home from camp! The website has many different types of insects that you can watch grow. We might get the ladybugs next!

I will update the blog as the caterpillars grow!!

We are leaving this afternoon to drive over to Disney World for the night. Mallory's birthday is on Saturday, so it's a little early celebration for her. AND, we are meeting one of our dear customers for the first time too!!

Day 6 of Kitchen Remodel

2009-06-13T16:34:00.000-04:00

It's only been six days since I was able to use anything in my kitchen and I've cried two of those days!! The combination of Nate cutting his hand, my car having to go back to the dealership AGAIN for the same problem it was there for LAST WEEK, our washing machine breaking AGAIN after someone was out to fix it LAST WEEK, Mallory having an ear infection, and just having to get used to walking out the front door and opening the garage door 45 times a day just to get something out of the refrigerator has put me over the edge a few times!! The good news is, the kitchen will be making a lot of progress this week. The walls from the old kitchen will be coming down tomorrow and the new wall will be going up. The electrician is coming on Monday to start all the new wiring and moving some of the switches. The air conditioning company will be creating a new vent for the hood and a new air return.

This is our new wall, to keep all the dust on the other side with the construction. Yes, that's Jack passed out on the couch after a long morning at the beach!

Here is the wall without the mirror. That built-in shelf is connected to my sewing room, so I will have to relocate a few things when they take that out.

No more cabinets!

Mirror, mirror, on the wall....

2009-06-07T21:26:00.001-04:00

Remember that mirrored wall photo from my last post? Well, guess what it did to my husband today while he was trying to tear it down during the big "Demo" day today?

I was given strict instructions to have the kids out of the house all day today. So, that gave us a great reason to head to the 9:15 church service this morning. Vacation Bible School starts this week and I volunteered to help with the decorations, so we didn't get out of church until 1:30. I took the kids to my parents house afterward and then came to check on the progress. Nate and "Bird" (one of his carpenters from work) were just finishing putting up the partition walls and would be starting to tear down the walls (pictures of this to come tomorrow!). I grabbed a couple things for the kids to play with, along with my sewing machine to finish up my orders and headed back to my parents to spend the afternoon.

The phone rang about 2:30, it was my dad, he said Bird just dropped Nate off at the Emergency room, as he had sliced his hand opened. My mom and I were wondering what in the world was he doing to slice his hand open?? I left the kids there to play and headed down to the hospital. Apparently, the mirrored wall was not-so-easily removed, one of the pieces shattered, cut right through Nate's leather glove and sliced his hand. The doctor said if it had been 2 mm deeper, he would have lost the movement in his pinky finger. 3 hours and 5 stitches later, we were eating delicious lasagna at my parents house with my grandparents!

Goodbye 1962

2009-06-06T10:27:00.000-04:00

When we bought our house 5 years ago, we set aside some money from the sale of our previous home to remodel this kitchen. After many different designs and battles with my dear husband about it, we are FINALLY starting the remodel (demo) TOMORROW!!! This is going to be a 6-8 week project with us living through the whole thing. It will be very interesting with 2 smalls kids and our "guard" dog. My sewing room shares a wall with the remodel, so I will not be sewing for the rest of the summer.

I thought I would share a few before pictures, well sort of before pictures. I had already starting packing/removing things from the walls and book shelves.

I am so excited about my new kitchen, with all the new appliances and more storage. I am going for a Seaside feel to my entire house. Nathan is not to keen on this idea, but I think once he sees the completed kitchen, he'll love it as much as I do.

This is our little breakfast area, that will become a little sitting area with bookshelves and a window seat.

Don't you just love this itty bitty microwave that we've been using for 5 years, and that brown tile!

The 80's mirrored wall is such a nightmare with little kids!!! In our new kitchen, this will be where our refrigerator and stove will be. There will be an island coming out from there, about where the couch is.

I'm also trying to sell Nate on the idea that we need new wood floors. The yellow oak will not go with the look that I'm trying to create, but he's not budging on this one...yet!! I want what is called Black Vintage Mahogany. It's wide planked and a darker wood.

Hopefully, in 6-8 weeks, my new kitchen will look like this!!

Maddie*Kate: New Summer Girls Listing on eBay

2009-06-05T07:49:00.000-04:00

This is the sweetest little set, perfect for those warm summer days ahead. This 2-pc set is OOAK, not to be duplicated, best fit for a 4-5-6. Mallory is wearing 5's & 6's now :-( Seems like yesterday everything we were making was a 2T.

You can find the listing by clicking HERE.

Mallory wasn't crying in these photos, she had just spent the entire day swimming in a chlorine pool. Her eyes are very sensitive to the chlorine!

Mother's Day Tea

2009-06-04T16:43:00.000-04:00

So...I'm about a month behind on my posts, sorry about that. I will explain why in the coming weeks. There is total chaos about to happen at our house!!

I will post about one thing, so you all can start praying. My dear friend, Robin, who has already been through so much in her life, being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at age 23 and not having any function of her left hand, just gave birth to a beautiful little boy, Austin, six weeks ago. Austin is wonderful, I got the chance to take some newborn pictures of him when I went to visit her. She was not able to breast feed, as the doctors wanted her on her M.S. meds as soon as she had recovered from the birth. It was a blessing in disguise, as she was feeling her breast, as she thought she had a clogged duct or something. She had a mammogram done shortly after, the lump was removed this past Monday, and was diagnosed the same day with Breast Cancer. She goes back next Wednesday for more surgery to have some lymph nodes taken out to see if the cancer has spread. She is 31 years old and has a 6-week old baby. Please, please, please keep her in your prayers!!!

The kids had their Mother's Day Tea at school the Friday before Mother's Day. Jack's class sang a sweet little song, to the beat of Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Mommy takes good care of me, care of me, care of me.
Mommy takes good care of me, because she loves me so.

Mallory's class practices once a week with the orff instruments, so they put on a little performance showing how much they had learned. Mallory just looked at the pictures and said "Ooh, I got the clean one!" Whatever that means...

Then they had the fashion show. We got a letter home a few weeks before the performance asking us to let our children pick out something from our closets to wear. Then the preschool director would ask them certain questions about their mommies and daddys.

Mallory chose to wear my swimsuit cover-up (???) and some sparkly flip flops. She did have one of my old purses that she filled with hair clips and make-up. I don't really remember all that she told the preschool director, something about how Mommy looks better with make-up on, I was too busy cringing when she picked her nose and proceeded to eat it up on stage!!!!!!!! I was so proud. So proud, that I bought her this shirt the other day.

If your sweet little girl needs one of these too, you can find it HERE. She has some really fun things!! I can't wait for Mallory's to get here!!

First Hair Cut

2009-06-01T20:15:00.000-04:00

So, I've been cutting Jack's hair since he was about 1. It has been harder and harder to cut his hair these past couple of times, so I decided it was time for him to go to the salon and have my hairdresser do it. I let it grow out a little, so she would be able to cut it the way that I wanted it.

Here he is right before we walked in. He is smiling only because I promised a trip to the toy store afterward if he is a good boy.

We walked all the way to the back to the chairs that have tv's in front of them. We finally found a channel that he would watch and she started cutting.

In order to get the back, she had to prop him up on some towels. He wasn't too sure about sitting on the towels, so we had to add 3 at a time (since 3 is his favorite number and how old he is).

Jack did wonderful and earned his trip to the toy store!! The hairdresser, in my opinion, didn't earn a trip to the toy store. Jack's hair is very straight and so hard to get it to blend. I thought I didn't do a good job, but apparently I did!! This will probably be his only trip to the salon for a few more years, until I'm ready for him to get a big boy haircut!

Maddie*Kate New Listing & Resell spotted!!

2009-05-25T20:29:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Part of it being so wonderful was Sunday at 12:15, myself and 7 others girls left our families behind and headed to the beach for a night away!! We sat on the beach drinking cocktails, chatting, then went to a fabulous dinner, not at 5:30 like we do with the kids, but at 9:30!! The men & kids met us the next morning on the back dock with the boats and we headed out to a fun little island in the intercoastal waterway. The weather had been so bad all week, but it was perfect on Sunday and today!! We had a nice dinner at my parents house tonight and I will be in bed shortly!!

I just wanted to take a minute to promote our new listing and a 4th of July resell!

Here is the new Crabby But Cute Boys listing. I can't tell if Jack is trying to wink at me, or if the sun is blaring in his face.

This 4th of July Hello Kitty set was one of our favorites!! I can't believe it doesn't have any bids yet! You can find it by clicking HERE.

I've got some other fun pictures and things to blog about, but I will get to them tomorrow, as I need some sleep!!

Crabby but Cute Part Two...

2009-05-22T21:28:00.000-04:00

Coming tomorrow!! I just love how this little set turned out. I've made matching beach sets for my kids for the past 3 years now. I need to gather the other two from their closets/storage bins and find a safe place for them so I can have a little reminder of our summers together.

I always have high hopes of getting the perfect shots of them together, holding hands, smiling AND looking at the camera. It never works out that way, especially on the rare occasion when they are actually wearing matching clothing! So is the case this time!! We were dodging rain all day, heck, it hasn't stopped raining here for 11 days straight! I had on jeans and a little tank top, thinking it would still be cool from the rain at the beach, but it was HOT and HUMID, so I was drenched with sweat, my jeans stuck to my legs, trying to get them just to look my way ONCE!! Sigh...

Yummy Taco Salad

2009-05-21T21:27:00.000-04:00

I'm on the board at the kids preschool, helping to organize the yearly events, etc. At the end of the year, the board members hold a luncheon to thank the teachers for putting up with our kids all year! We collect donations from area businesses for some little gifts and we all make different salads for everyone to enjoy.

Last year, the theme of the luncheon was "Oprah's Favorite Things". We made up a little riddle and the teachers had to guess what the prize would be for that riddle. Once they got it right, we all ran out and shouted "YOU get a pedicure, and YOU get a pedicure, and YOU get a pedicure, etc., etc." It was so much fun for us all AND the teachers got some really great things!!

This year, the theme was "Back to School" and we pretended like we were the teachers and they were our kids. It seems kind of silly, but they ALL played the part so well!! They had place mats at their tables with their names on them, with artwork done by the kids in the classes (the artwork was supposed to look like the teachers). They had little "cubbies" in their chairs as well (monogrammed bags to hold all of their goodies). We had them have different jobs like they do at school (line leader, door holder, snack helper, etc.) Each different thing we had them do, had a prize to go along with it (storytime had a leather bookmark and gift card to Borders, exercise had monogrammed water bottles and putt-putt golf gift cards, washing their hands had Mary Kay Satin Hands, snack time had Moe's and Bonefish gift cards, etc.) The teachers got put in time-out too!! It really was a great time!!

The salad that I've made for the past two years is wonderful and so easy to make, so I had to share it here!

Taco Salad

1 lb ground beef browned and drained
1 head lettuce shredded (or buy the kind that comes shredded like me)
2 tomatoes chopped
2 small cans black olives sliced (I just use 1 can, as I'm not a fan of olives)
1/2 red onion chopped
1 bag of Doritos crushed
1 jar Marie's Creamy Italian Garlic Dressing (found in the refrigerated salad section)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

***Can be made ahead EXCEPT ADD DRESSING AND CHIPS JUST BEFORE SERVING***
The chips get soggy real quick!!
It's not real diet friendly, but it tastes delicious!!

Enjoy!!

New Maddie*Kate Listings "Summer Travels"

2009-05-19T17:35:00.000-04:00

We were so honored to be invited by some of the Ivylane girls to join them on their "Destination" launch. We decided to go to Paris with *little*noel*.

You can find our listing by clicking HERE.

Here is Debbie's listing that Mallory modeled. Click HERE to see the listing.

Then, we went to Disney World with WildByDesign! MB designed the girl's set and we did the boys!

You can find the boys listing HERE.

And the girls listing HERE.

THEN, we went to the beach with emerson*rose!!

You can find our "Crabby, but cute" listing HERE
.

You can find Kelly's little pants HERE.

And Jen's little knit top HERE.

And Melissa's bows HERE.

And the winner is....

2009-05-17T18:47:00.000-04:00

We had 79 entries for the sweet little dress giveaway!! This was the first time that I got smart and used a random number generator instead of actually writing and cutting EVERY entry and having Mallory pull a name from a hat! This was WAY easier!

The winner is lucky # 35 - MICHELLE (Saudishoppingqueen)!! Michelle, we will be contacting you at some point this week to discuss the details of your dress! Congratulations! Thank you to everyone that participated!